What a day, what a week. The Masters for some reason growing up was always the tournament I loved the best. Maybe it's because it was Australia's version of the US Masters. Whatever the reason it was always my favourite event on the Aussie golfing calendar. Today was my chance to have a red hot crack at winning a tournament I have dreamt about winning. This week has been a great week on a few levels but I think for me it has hopefully been a defining week in my career. Let me explain. I am reading a book at the moment called Golf's Sacred Journey 2 - Johnny's US Open by David L. Cook. It is a brilliant read on the back of his first book Golf's Sacred Journey. They are golf orientated books but really are teaching me so much about life and the journey. This week reading through there have been some incredibly well timed words of wisdom come from the book. As many of you know I am a Christian and I believe that God has a purpose for my life. I believe that I am to be a professional golfer but have always thought there was more to it than that. Last Sunday in church I felt God give me a word that said I would be in a position to win next week at the Masters but when asked about the final round my response should be that Matt Guyatt is not defined by the score I shoot tomorrow, Matt Guyatt is defined by the man that I am and how I act and react to what every day brings. I haven't always been good at that, in fact i have failed at it many many times but have made real progress in the past few months at it. I believe God told me to splash some of the joy he gives me onto those around me. On Sat after my round I was interviewed by a reporter for the Herald Sun. My response was exactly what God had told me I would say before the final round. It made it to print! So back to the book, here is a passage that truly jumped out at me this week. "Golf is not your vocation, it is your platform. It is a place for sowing seeds of light, hope and life especially inside the ropes on tournament day where most players check out, allowing the selfishness of the moment and pressure of the day to close the door to true adventure and revelation. Don't be afraid of your new swing. It is part of your platform and it will set you apart. It will inspire seekers of truth in all walks of life to open the locked vault of false traditions stronghold. You will speak greatness into many as I flood you with insight. You will live as a noticer as you listen to me. You will bring life where there is death, light where there is darkness, hope where there is pain and freedom to those trapped in fear. Our fear is that if you do this you will miss out and you will not play well, that you will be a wasting career and that you will look like a fool. But I say, when you choose this path you will find life, you will be filled to overflowing with what victory can't deliver. When you forget about yourself and focus on those with whom I cross your path, your performance will soar and you will play fearlessly, knowing neither failure or victory has any hold on you. You will be relentlessly competitive yet full of grace, tenacious yet full of peace." Wow what a passage on the back of the message I got in church last Sunday. Affirmation for sure. So that is what we did this week and was certainly both Brad, my caddy, and my focus for the final round. The day wasn't about us, it was about freeing myself from the pressure of the day by engaging in people's lives, of those that came across my path today. Two years ago I was in the second last group and didn't have an awesome final day. I started poorly and never recovered and felt the strain all day. Today was different and I knew it would be before we even went out there. I had a couple of minutes spare on the first tee today and as I now always do I chose someone to chat to. A gentleman standing behind the tee was the person of choice today. The usual response I get when I chat to a spectator is initial shock followed by a big smile and clear enjoyment that one of the pros is chatting to them. It isn't something many of the guys do but I see the impact it has and I think it can only build your own profile as well as the sport as well as give people an extra bonus for their day at the golf! For the record the gentleman I met owns the best organic produce store in Melbourne called Passionfoods, ask for Steven! After a solid start to my round with pars at 1 and 2 I hit a poor drive down the 3rd and ended up making a pretty good bogey. The par five 4th hole saw me hit a great drive and despite missing the green with my 5 iron I hit a great bunker shot to set up a 6 ft birdie chance. I hit a really solid putt but a slight misread meant it lipped out instead of in! I followed that with a poor 3 putt on the 5th and quickly my round was going backwards at 2 over through 5. Last year I had great starting positions to the final rounds in a couple of big ones before imploding early in the rounds...this wasn't the start I was looking for today! One of the best things about my week this week has been my patience, and today was no different. I stayed very patient and positive that my game was in great order and the birdies would come. A great birdie on the par give 6th started to turn the round in the right direction which was important before the very tough 7th hole. The 7th was a 204m par three that I saw claim victims in every group I have played in this week. I however was under par on this hole for the week and was determined to finish that way. I hit a 4 iron which was the shortest club all week about despite hitting a quality shot I misjudged the wind a little and my ball found the right bunker. My bunker play this week was outstanding and there was no exception to that rule here meaning a par and keeping my under record intact for the week on this hole. The downwind par five 8th was also a good hole for me, in fact with my birdie here on the final day it capped off the previous 3 birdies on the hole for the week. So that was that, it had erased the two bogies, now time to get going. I played a really good ninth hole but just had too much speed on the putt for birdie having to settle for par. It was off to the back nine where I had struggled all week, but this time was the final nine on Sunday and I was still in contention, every golfers desire on that first tee Thursday. Momentum that I had built over the last four holes stalled when I hit a poor six iron into the tenth finding the greenside bunker and then an uncharacteristic bunker shot that left too much to do on the putt, bogey! Despite hitting a good shot into the par 3 eleventh I couldn't jag the putt although a perfect drive on 12 and an even better wedge shot left me only 4 ft foot birdie that I converted. I was back to -4 again and with 6 to go and the leaders stumbling I was still alive but needed a special finish. The wind strength was increasing but as always it was it was gusty making it tricky to read accurately. My tee shot on 13 and second shot into 14 both copped strong down wind gusts meaning both shots going long of the greens.....a massive no no! A miracle save on 13 for par couldn't be matched on 14 and despite being long of the par five in two I had to settle for par there too. A regulation par on 15 left me -4 with three to play. I needed to finish with 3 straight birdies which on those holes was tough but not impossible. After a great drive down the 16th I hit a sublime approach to the top shelf of the green flirting with the disaster of the bunker to the left of the pin. I turned to the crowd and gave a massive sigh of relief which was met with a few laughs and words of encouragement. Particularly from three lads with beers, they yelled out "c'mon mate, get up there and make the birdie!" I did make it and as I picked the ball out of tee hole and turned towards them I tossed the ball to them....instantly creating three new fans! Those three walked with me to the last hole cheering all the way as I hit a great drive and solid approach to 17 before holing the biggest putt of the tournament for me to somehow find myself at -6 and with a chance of posting 7 under and the clubhouse lead. With the leaders on -9 at the time we still thought, you never know! I ripped it down 18 and stood there looking at the tight back right pin with a 9 iron in my hand and two options in front of me. Play conservatively to the left centre of the green and have an outside chance at birdie but a more likely safe par or go for the flag and have a crack at taking the clubhouse lead and waiting to see what happens. In a pretty quick deliberation I decided that this chance didn't come along often, so pin hunting it was! I hit a solid shot, perfect for distance but right on the edge of the green on the right side. It was either going to hang on and be close or oh right and find the bunker! Sadly it chose the bunker which left me with an impossible up and down. Despite the bogey I don't regret "living" in that moment and chasing the childhood dream of winning the Masters! After a warm ovation I sought out a couple of kids near the bunker to pass them some souvenirs and was then met by a massive group of them at the exit point. More giveaways and signatures before they finally made a path for me to get through. As the sea of kids parted who would be standing there but my three beer drinking buddies, ready to congratulate me and promise to be there from the first hole next year!! To finish it off after signing my card and then some autographs I walked out of the scoring area to be greeted by a gentleman named Steven.....the guy from the first tee who had found me to congratulate me on my week, what a kind gesture. To add to that when I landed in Brisbane later on that night I had a contact form filled out from my website from Steven congratulating me again and welcoming me to his shop next time I was in town! All from a 2 minute chat on the first tee! So tied 11th, a great week seeing smiles on many many faces, very solid golf, in with a chance on Sunday and built on my friendship with Brad and his wife Shelley! Above all that though was the realisation that we all have dreams and it's important in life to not let those dreams be shut down. There are dream killers out there and lies that we all by into in this world. I have come some way to coming out the other side of all that and I encourage you all to dig deep inside and find those dreams and take a good look at what is stopping you fulfilling your dreams! Be aware of it and try to live out your dreams and help fulfil the dreams of those around you. The joy will be unending! So until next week, thanks for following along and watching as I live out my dream, using golf to help me put smiles on faces and make a difference in this world in some small way. Be awesome, find your dreams and dust of the cobwebs they have been gathering!!!!

Round 3 is known as moving day and it certainly was that this week. Unfortunately it was a tail of two types of moving day today, the morning field in no wind and perfect conditions moved hard in the right direction and the later players copped a brutal northerly wind gusting up to 60km/h. As I was third last group to go out this meant that I was one of the groups to really cop the weather.

That meant for us the goal was still the same, shoot as low as we could but the expectations certainly went back to around par being a great score as opposed to the 5 and 6 under scores of quite a few of the morning players. I played really solid to turn the front nine in 2 under par and was playing well. The back nine has been a bit of a struggle for me all week and once again it proved that way for me. I didn't do a hell of a lot wrong just missed a couple of greens, which in those winds was understandable. I actually played great recovery shots but could make the putts and dropped three shots coming home. My bogey on the last hole was the one that took a little shine off the day as even par was an exceptional round of golf in that wind. Quality players were struggling all around me which just shows the difficulty of the day.

So I go into the final round with a sniff still. 4 shots back is nothing on this course that rewards quality golf and putting. I am very excited for the final round and am looking forward to enjoying myself out there knowing that my score and outcome doesn't define who Matt Guyatt is as a person, Matt Guyatt defines that. I am looking forward to interacting with some of the spectators and trying to put as many smiles on their faces as possible!

Why the photo you might ask? Well today I fulfilled a lifelong dream, I went to the MCG! After my second round where I shot a 3 under par I raced off to watch the Aussies do battle with Sth Africa in a day nighter!

So a cracking day all round! My golf was solid without being awesome today. I struggled off the tee a bit today and if not for some short game brilliance I would have made a few bogies! Thankfully some par saves left me with a good opportunity to rally with some birdies late. With two par 5's in my last four holes I thought I might be able to pick up a couple of shots. That was the case as I made birdies on both of them before making a birdie on my last hole too with a great approach and a lovely 12ft birdie putt. A great result built on maintaining momentum by saving some pars when I had too.

So off to the cricket I went with tickets organised by Ricky Ponting! Thanks Ricky! A very small crowd and with members tickets there were even less people around. Brad, my caddy, and I decided to move around to where the crowd was. It was a great decision as we soon realised we were sitting next to a bunch of young guys on a bucks night out. The buck was dressed up as the great Merv Hughes!

They were awesome and so we joined in the chanting that got louder as the night went on. I chatted to one of the lads for a while and got talking about my job. So after answering his questions about whether I was playing the Masters he was quite excited. Late in the game I went to the loo and on my return I was welcomed back with a slow "Matty, Matty, Matty" chant by all the guys standing and bowing down to me!! Absolute classic! I of course gave them the wave to their cheers!! I sat back down with Brad and asked if he had put them up to that which he said he hadn't! Fun stuff!

Finally after cheering home the Aussies for a brilliant win we got up to leave but not before the Buck's night lads had a photo with me.....absolute mayhem! As they all clambered in close for the biggest "selfie" in history I had beer spilt down my back and arm and was mobbed! What an awesome night, hats off to those boys for entertaining us all night!!

Well what a day. My morning round was greated with strong winds from the get go! To be honest bit was brutal, every shot whether it was downwind or into the wind or cross wind, it was extremely tough.

The downwind holes were proving impossible to stop the ball on the green and the into the wind holes were playing incredibly long!

I played very solid today and managed a 2 under par day which felt excellent in the conditions! Tomorrow the winds are supposed to change and go from the opposite direction so it will be head down and bums up. Can't wait!

That time of year again, Aussie Masters time! I have enjoyed my time at the Masters over the past couple of years and am enjoying it again this year despite play not quite being underway yet.

Metro is hosting us in the sandbelt this year and it is a treat to be playing another of the premier courses in Australia. I haven't played here for many many years and my memory of it was always that it had amazing fairways. I was not mistaken and when I arrived on Monday for my first practice round I was treated to "golf on carpet!" The fairways are unbelievable and the only way you could get a bad lie this week is if you find a divot in the fairway. In typical sandbelt golf tradition, the course is all about keeping the ball below the hole and controlling where you are putting from.

My week so far has been about familiarizing myself with the layout on Monday and coming up with a plan for the course. Tuesday I played 18 holes with that plan and checked to see whether the plan will work and make any necessary changes. After some lunch on Tuesday it was off to the chipping and putting green to try and get a natural feel for the firmness and speed of the greens.

Today was the final day of preparation before the main event starts tomorrow. I am playing early in round one so it was an early start for me today too. Get out there early and finish early so that I could relax and be fresh for the next 4 days. I had a great session this morning out there, the early bird caught the worm as the saying goes. There weren't many players out there early so I had the chipping and putting greens pretty much to myself before hitting a very limited number of balls on the range. Why would I only hit a few range balls the day before a tournament you may ask? Well normally I would hit a few more but today I was hitting it every shape with ease through the bag so I decided to stop. Simple as that!

I am ready to go and looking forward to the week. I have a week off next week after being on the go for the past couple after getting through to finals in Japan last week. The Final qualifying for the Japanese tour awaits after that week off and I am hoping the the break will freshen me up to make a serious assault on the 6 round final stage.

For now though I have a task in front of me, to stop the 3 peat from Adam Scott at the Aussie Masters!

Firstly the photo above is at the Nickel Smelter here in Kalgoorlie. It is the waste dump from the plant dumped out of a pot that holds 90 tonnes, that's 90000kg! When dumped it is at an incredible 1300 degrees Celsius. Watching it is a sight to see and to me is probably the closest thing to watching a lava slide. Awesome.

I wish I could say that my golf has been awesome but it really hasn't. There have been some real quality moments but a few average shots always manage to make up for the good stuff. I have had round of 74, 73 and 72 today. I just haven't been able to make enough putts to gather any momentum all week long.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the golf course out here and stand by my statement that it is somewhere all golf lovers should come to play. Brilliant test of golf. I am looking to get one over the course tomorrow and get into the red figures for the week.

I have been working on some stuff over the past week with my swing and I am really happy with some of the progress. Technically on video it looks the best it ever has but I have been struggling a little bit with the sequencing and rhythm. Today on the range before I played I found a little something on the rhythm side of things and it was much improved out on course today. With Japan Q School only a week away and the Masters the week after, it will be good to have another competitive round working on it tomorrow.

I hope to be back on the blog for the rest of the summer now so please check back to see what is happening!!!